The present invention relates to a cover for a portable electronic device, and more specifically, to a push to release cover for a portable electronic device.
The manufacture and design of today's portable electronic devices, for example, mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, laptop computers, is constantly evolving. Early portable electronic device designs were necessarily large and bulky. Advances in circuitry and storage technology have enabled portable electronic device designers to create smaller and smaller devices. These instruments are not only lighter, but also less cumbersome and easier to transport. Today's portable electronic devices have become more fashionable, at the same time provide an increasing number of functionalities.
The ever decreasing sizes of today's portable electronic devices have the unintended consequence of requiring not only the electronic parts, but also the mechanical parts to shrink in size. One example of such mechanical parts is the cover for the portable electronic devices.
FIG. 1 provides one example of a conventional design of a cover latch of a portable electronic device 100, for example but not limited to, a mobile wireless device. As the size, especially the thickness of the portable electronic devices decreases, there is no room for a cover latch close 102 to a central opening 104.
As a consequence, the cover latch 106 is generally designed in the rear and on the sides of the housing of the portable electronic device 100. The design of an opening in the center may prove to be not desirable to consumers. For example, the opening in the back of the portable electronic device may not be aesthetically appealing to consumers. Furthermore, a user's nail may be damaged when used to open the cover.
Therefore, there is a need for a cover latch mechanism without an opening for a contemporary designed portable electronic device.